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Monday, July 25, 2005
Transport strike, rallies set in Cebu Monday
CEBU CITY -- Two anti-Arroyo groups will hold separate rallies and two transport organizations will go on strike in time for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (Sona) Monday.
The Gloria Step Down Movement (GSM) expects to gather this afternoon 3,000 people at the Provincial Capitol grounds, where Arroyo took her oath last year, while convenors of Laban ng Masa will assemble about 2,000 at the Gaisano Metro on Colon St. before they will hold a "peaceful" rally at the Malacañang sa Sugbo at 4 p.m.
Despite the rallies and the transport strike, Cebu City Schools Division Superintendent Leonilo Oliva said classes will not be suspended.
Oliva told Sun.Star Cebu Sunday that with the localization policy, all teachers and students are expected to belong to schools located in the barangays where they reside.
"There is no need for us to suspend classes unless there is an order," he said.
The police and military are also on alert for any emergency today.
Earlier, the Alliance of Transport Organization Members Intra Cebu (Atomic), which is affiliated with the Laban ng Masa, and the Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo (Nadsu), which belong to the GSM block, announced they will not ply major routes Monday.
Nadsu will begin their strike at 1 a.m. while Atomic members will be out of the streets by 5 a.m.
To make sure that no children will be used as shields by protesters Monday, the Cebu City Government will not only field vehicles for the transport strike but also a dedicated team to keep watch of demonstrators who might bring along kids.
City Hall assures that commuters will be accommodated by Kaohsiung buses, multicabs, barangay vehicles as well as those from other government agencies like the Central Command (Centcom), which will provide military trucks.
City Councilor and action officer Gerardo Carillo, in a telephone interview, said there are also drivers' groups that pledged not to join the strike.
Carillo said the City will give packed lunch and privilege cards to the non-protesting drivers, who will get them from strategic centers the City will put up.
The cards could be used to negate a traffic violation the driver would commit in the future.
Meanwhile, a team of policemen, together with an augmentation force from the Mobile Patrol Group and Central Command, have been assigned to secure the Malacañang sa Sugbo and the Cebu City Hall, Acting Cebu City Police Director Melvin Gayotin said told Sun.Star Cebu.
Elements from the Cebu Provincial Police Office, on the other hand, were tasked to take care of the security at the Capitol building.
The Mobile Patrol Group and other special units and several personnel from the 11 police stations have also been designated to monitor the transport strike and make sure that drivers who do not join the strike are protected from harassment.
As early as 5 a.m. Monday, the City will set up its operation center at the City Disaster Coordinating Council office.
It will ready 28 Kaohsiung buses and 50 City-rented multicabs aside from barangay vehicles and trucks.
The vehicles, however, will be fielded only when the non-striking drivers' groups will inform the City that they can no longer cope with the number of stranded passengers.
Separate teams were formed as early as Saturday to monitor northbound, southbound, and intra-city routes to determine which needs places need augmentation.
A separate team comprising policemen, social workers and members of the City Council for the Protection and Welfare of Children will "see to it no children are involved in rallies."
If children are seen with the protesters, they will be taken by the team to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office for custody.
The protest actions, which will also be mounted in Manila and other key cities today, are mainly aimed at President Arroyo, who is facing calls for her resignation and an impeachment complaint over allegations she conspired to rig last year's elections to secure her victory.
Lito Vasquez of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, which is one of the convenors of Laban ng Masa, said there was an attempt to coordinate efforts with GSM so groups in Cebu could have one activity today.
However, a scheduled meeting never pushed through, so each group just decided to hold separate activities.
According to a statement from GSM, though, there will be a "rare display of unity" among retired and active military officers belonging to Billy Bibit's bloc of the Guardians Brotherhood, members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and militant organizations affiliated with the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, who will call for Arroyo's resignation.
"We assure the public that our rally will be peaceful. We put in place security measures to prevent saboteurs and agent provocateurs from infiltrating our ranks," the statement quoted GSM co-spokesperson Kaira Zoe Alburo.
The group was involved in a violent incident with local police when they trooped to the Malacañang sa Sugbo recently.
For their part, Vasquez said their group will hold a "peaceful" and symbolic protest at the President's office in Cebu at 4 p.m. Monday.
They will also ensure that the parents who will have no choice but to bring their children to the activity will be informed that vehicles will be ready so their children could rest.
The group, which is calling for the establishment of a transitional revolutionary government after Arroyo's ouster, said their activity will begin with a caravan from the University of the Philippine-Cebu College at 1 p.m.
They will converge with members of Bangon Pilipinas and Jesus Is Lord, which is the group of defeated presidential candidate Eddie Villanueva, on P. del Rosario St. so they will march together to Gaisano Metro Colon before heading to the Malacañang sa Sugbo. (CYR/RHM/JST of Sun.Star Cebu)
(July 25, 2005 issue)
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Speech may test capacity to rule, anti-Arroyo force